Top Left leaders including Mohammad Salim arrested for protesting during lockdown in West Bengal

Left Front leaders Mohammad Salim, Biman Bose, Surya Kanta Mishra and Sujan Chakraborty along with other supporters were arrested on Saturday afternoon for protesting on Kolkata’s Red Road in violation of lockdown orders.

Around 30 of them were arrested for protesting against malpractices in the Public Distribution System (PDS) by the West Bengal government during the coronavirus pandemic. They were arrested under section 188 of IPC and taken to the central lockup in Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters.

#WATCH West Bengal: Police detained Left Front Chairperson Biman Bose and other party workers today in Kolkata who were protesting alleging improper distribution of ration and low percentage of #COVID19 testing in the state pic.twitter.com/4fF5UpaISq

The protests took place in the afternoon near the BR Ambedkar statue on Red Road while Left leaders and supporters were holding placards. The protestors were questioning the PDS system at a time when the Central and State governments have announced food items at subsidised rates for low socio economic classes during the coronavirus pandemic. It is not certain when the Left leaders and protestors will be released.

Meanwhile, the state is grappling with the rising COVID-19 cases with the numbers having gone up to 178 cases and the death toll increasing to 12 on Saturday. Samples tested are 4630.